Saturday, June 19, 2010

Special Spud Salad

It's really only special looking; purple taters don't taste any different from regular ones. But the color does make them more fun to eat.

a pound & a half of new baby purple spuds
about 2 tablespoons each of whole grain mustard, cider vinegar, and real mayonnaise.
the green part of a scallion, chopped fine
1/3 of a yellow bell pepper, finely diced
some fresh parsley, minced
salt & pepper

Boil the potatoes in generously salted water. Mine were so new the skins could be scraped off under running water, but otherwise I wouldn't bother peeling them. They cook surprisingly fast, be a little vigilant or they'll boil into porridge before you know it. Once they're done, drain them and stick 'em in the fridge until they're about 90% cool, then break them into chunks with your fingers. I think they look better that way. Mix all the other ingredients together, toss with the taters, and taste for salt and pepper.

Hey, remember the strawberries I posted about? Well, the ones this week are even better. They look just the same, but these are like magic. I obviously respond strongly to food, but they did stop me in my tracks at the farmer's market today. They're these huge, firm red things, incredibly sweet and so intensely berry-tasting that you'd think they'd been treated with some flavoring agent. I think I annoyed the booth operators by buzzing their sample tray once too often. Note to self: the next strawberry plant I buy should be the variety named 'albion'.